Texting and Scones
by Laura x Tennant
Summary: Set after JE; Rose and the Doctor have arrived at her flat in London after a long and tiresome journey from Norway. Unsure yet hopeful, they begin to forge this strange new life together.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Set after JE; Rose and the Doctor have arrived at her flat in London after a long and tiresome journey from Norway. Unsure yet hopeful, they begin to forge this strange new life together. _

_::_

_**Texting and Scones**_

'_I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.'_

_ - Lewis Carroll_

::

She reached for him. The Doctor instantly tucked his hand into his pocket, and for a moment Rose thought that he was withdrawing from her comfort. But then his hand came right back out again, this time holding two envelopes. He held them out to her, his eyes sad, and swallowed thickly.

Rose's brow furrowed. "Doctor...?"

"Open them," he murmured gently.

She took the envelopes from him and turned them over, her breath hitching in her throat as she recognised his handwriting. His elegant script, writing _Rose _in the centre of each one.

She looked up at him questioningly. He shrugged. "That one's from after I lost you, when I was being particularly depressive one evening." He pointed to the other one. "I don't know what that one says, I didn't write it; he did. But I can probably guess. Go on. Open them."

"So he...gave this one to you, before we left the TARDIS?" she said quietly, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Yes," he answered simply. There was a pause where Rose just nodded and then went back to staring at the envelopes, and then, moving away from her, he continued, "You can choose whether you want to read both of them or just one or whatever. I'll give you some space - "

"No!" she cried out sharply, her free hand reaching out towards him. "Please don't go," she whispered.

His expression softened and he stepped back to her side and took her hand in his, squeezing reassuringly as they both sat down on the sofa together. "Okay," he promised.

She gave him a small, grateful smile, then opened the first one, the one he'd told her that he'd written after he'd lost her the first time. She took in a deep breath as she started to read,

_Rose,_

_This is probably pointless, really. I'm writing you a letter but it's not as if I can post it. I wish I could. I wish I could get this to you somehow. Well, no, actually I just wish that I could get you back, somehow...but all that's impossible, isn't it? That's what I told you. That's the fact of the matter. And I've been trying, I promise I have – trying and trying and trying to find away to get you back to me. Unfortunately the universes are still being uncooperative, and you are still too far away._

_Anyway, I feel like I need to write this down. Don't know why. Seems quite human, really. Maybe that's your fault. I suppose that's what I need to say first, actually – thank you, thank you, Rose, for making me better, for making me a little more human._

_I wish I could tell you that because of that, because of you saving me – in oh, so many ways - I'm okay right now. But I'm really not. I just. I just _miss _you, so much, and I can't believe I'm never going to see you again. All your stuff, everything that you left on the TARDIS, it's all still here, as if you've never left...all in its rightful place. In your home, where you should be. _

_Still. I want you to be happy, Rose. Don't mope around too much like I am. Don't you dare. You're so young, so human, so, so brilliant. You'll get on with life, I know you will. You'll live a fantastic life for me, just like I asked you to all that time ago. And you'll move on, someday. Your heart will heal._

_I feel like such an idiot for wasting so much time on that beach. I should've said what I wanted to say when I had the chance, instead of leaving it to the last second and then getting cut off. But you know, anyway. You know that I love you. That I love you more than anything. That I will always, always love you._

_Your Doctor._

Rose wiped at her eyes with her free hand and looked at the Doctor. He was staring sorrowfully back at her. "Doctor," she croaked out.

He ran his thumb across the back of her hand soothingly. "Read the next one," he told her softly.

"I don't know if I can," she whispered.

The Doctor smiled gently and removed his hand from hers to wrap his arms around her tightly, burying his nose into her hair. "Of course you can," he whispered back, before pressing a tender kiss to the top of her head.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat and carefully put the first letter back in its envelope, then placed it on the coffee table. With another deep breath, she opened the next one.

_Rose,_

_I expect you hate me right now. You think I've abandoned you. But soon, you'll see why I've done this, why I've left you there with him. And it might not seem like it now, but one day, you'll be so grateful that I did._

_You see, you can have the most wonderful life together now. A proper life together, where you really can spend forever with the Doctor. Have adventures. Be brave and brilliant and hold his hand. Make a home. Make a family. He can give you things I could never give you._

_Don't resent him. He's me. Really, he is. Well, he is, but he's better, too. He's the best part of me. Oh, he'll be just as rude and not ginger as always, but he's the part of me that can stay with you forever, so that makes him the best. And I'd like to think that because he's me and I'm him, you'll never feel alone again. _

_You can be together now, and Rose, don't waste time missing me, because I'm right there with you, right now. As you read this, I bet he's hovering, reading it over your shoulder. Nosy bastard, that's me. Always invading your personal space. I hope you didn't mind that in the years we travelled together, because you're stuck with it now. He'll always be there. And not because he has nowhere else to go, but because he loves you with everything he is, just like I do. But better. Because he's not the last of the Time Lords or lonely wanderer or all those other titles I've generously been given over the centuries, not anymore, not really. He can let go of that burden now, and you can help him do that, and make him see that the only person he needs to be concerned with is you. Well, and your family, of course. You both need each other, so I'm hoping that I've given you your happy ever after. Because you deserve that, Rose. You deserve every happiness possible. _

_I don't want to end this letter. I don't want to sign off and that be it – my last ever words to you. But I know I have to. And at least I know that you've still got me, right there with you, to share the rest of your life with you, grow old with you, do the domestic, make you happy. I want you to know that I wish that I could've swapped places with him. I need you to know that. That life, the adventure I've never had – I want that, so much, with you. But I couldn't swap, and you know why. It's not because I don't love you enough, because I love you so much that I would give everything up if I could, just to hold you in my arms. It's because I have this responsibility to the universe that I can't just ignore, and I'm sorry. I really am. _

_And if I'd given in and let you stay with me, we would both be consciously aware that every minute we spent together could be the last. I couldn't face losing you again. Not like that. Maybe it makes me a coward, but I really don't think I could watch you die and carry on afterwards. Now, in my mind, I know you're still alive and somewhere in the multiverse. To me, you'll always be alive. Always. And it isn't quite what I wanted, because what I wanted was for you to spend the rest of my life with me; but that's impossible, and this is the lesser of two evils. Letting you go now, knowing you'll be happy, knowing that there is somewhere where you are still there, still alive and wonderful and my fantastic Rose Tyler._

_So I'll treasure what you gave me, those precious moments of your life that I've had with you. And the memory of you and everything you are, and everything we were, will get me through the rest of my life. I'm going to miss you so much that you can't even fathom the measure of it, and never, ever, think that I will forget you, in time, because I won't. I won't ever forget you, I won't ever not miss you. And I won't ever not love you._

_Be happy, Rose Tyler._

_Yours always,_

_The Doctor x_

Once Rose finished reading, they both remained silent, and he held her as she curled up in his arms, hugging her tightly while she cried.


	2. Chapter 2

_2_

::

After reading the letters and crying on him for half hour or so, Rose had excused herself to go and have a shower, needing to clear her head and wash the tears away. Now, she felt a little refreshed, though still emotional, and walked back into the sitting room with a nervous feeling she was used to perpetually existing in the pit of her stomach. She watched the Doctor quietly for a few moments. He'd dozed off on the leather sofa, and was drooling onto it quite adorably. Her lips curved into a small smile and she tentatively touched his shoulder.

"Doctor?" she murmured. As he stirred awake, blinking blearily up at her, she continued, "I'm all done in the bathroom. You can have a shower if you like. Get out of this awful blue suit – where'd you find it, eh? Remember what I told you that time? You never_, ever _purchase clothes without hearing my advice first." She offered him a teasing grin, and though he did not reply, he reached out his hand to cup her cheek gently. And his sad eyes told her, _but you weren't there._

She cleared her throat and squeezed his shoulder. "Come on then, up you get." He did as she asked and stood up. "I've left, um, some clothes in a pile on the chair in the bathroom for you to look through; decide what you want to wear for now, 'til we can get you a nicer, browner set of pinstripes, yeah?"

He smiled. "Not gonna force me to wear jeans all the time, then?"

She shrugged. "Not gonna force you to wear anything. But we'll go shopping sometime and I'll probably talk you into buying some jeans just to see what they look like," she grinned.

Something seemed to occur to him, then, because his brows furrowed. "Hang on - "

Rose rolled her eyes. "Before you ask," she interrupted him. "No, the clothes I've left out for you _don't _belong to another man; I picked up a few things in the clothes section while we were in that little shop at the airport."

He visibly relaxed, his lazy smile reoccurring on his features. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

She shrugged again, telling him it was no problem. A few moments passed where the two of them just stood and stared at each other in silence; neither far apart nor really close, a sort of respectable distance kept between them. Both wondered when exactly in the next minute or so that respectable distance would diminish, as it always did and should and would where the Doctor and Rose were concerned.

Rose coughed awkwardly and gestured behind her. "Right, well...I'm gonna go get some sleep, then. Um...once you've showered, feel free to do whatever. Sleep too, if you need it – how much will you need, now?"

The Doctor's expression told her, _how do I know?_

She smiled sympathetically. "Well, okay, so...sleep if you can, or grab some food..." She looked over at the kitchen, then shook her head, letting out a nervous, embarrassed laugh. "Actually, don't think there's any food in those cupboards at the moment." A thought struck her suddenly. "Books!" she announced, pointing over at her bookcase, which was crammed full. "I've got lots of books, should keep you busy. Or there's my laptop, you could, I dunno...surf the net or whatever. Or..." She floundered, running out of ideas.

The Doctor got the distinct impression she was trying to tell him something by offering him this list of possible activities. "Rose," he said softly.

She looked back at him instantly, her breath hitching slightly as she felt his fingers brush hers, requesting for her to let him hold her hand. Their hands entwined perfectly, like always, and she felt comforted somewhat. "What I mean is, just don't...don't leave the flat 'til I'm awake, yeah?" she whispered uncertainly. "Sorry, it's just...I don't...I don't..." She let out a shaky breath. "I don't want to wake up to find you gone, not knowing where you are."

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'll be staying right here," he promised her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, wincing internally at her own clinginess. She hastily withdrew her hand from his and started stepping backwards towards her bedroom door. "Okay, then, I'll get some sleep, and...see you soon, yeah?"

He smiled, and when he replied, he ignored the lump in his throat that made his voice crack with emotion, "See you soon, Rose Tyler."

::

She stared up at her ceiling in frustration, unable to sleep despite how tired she really was. Goodness' knows when she'd last had a decent night's sleep, but she couldn't seem to switch off. She was physically and emotionally drained, but she just couldn't fall asleep. Lying silent in bed, she listened out for the sounds of the shower switching off. She wondered what he would actually do, now he'd finished. Would he keep his promise and stay inside the flat, or would his restlessness lead him to venture out into this strange world that was neither his nor hers to take his first careful steps of a new life without her?

She shook her head at herself. He wouldn't leave. He'd keep his promise. She had to stop worrying.

The sound of her bedroom door creaking open made her startle, her heart beating a little faster in her chest.

"Rose?" he whispered.

She turned her head to face him and squinted into the light of the doorway. "Yeah?"

"Did I wake you? Sorry," he murmured, stepping into the room.

"No, it's fine," she assured him, sitting up. "You alright?"

"Yeah." He smiled slowly, seeming a little nervous. "Um. I just wanted to say, you did well with the picking my clothes thing. This t-shirt fits perfectly."

Rose let her gaze flick across the length of his body, admiring him with a small smile. "Boxer shorts fit perfectly too?" she asked, unable to resist returning a bit of banter to their discourse.

"Oh yes," he chuckled, stepping closer to her bed. "Good eye for measurements, you."

She giggled and it felt good, so she giggled again. She couldn't remember the last time she'd giggled.

"That's nice," he said quietly, as he sat down at the bottom of her bed. The light from the sitting room streamed in through the doorway and lit him up for her, so she could see his face. His eyes were shining brightly. She thought perhaps they were tears, that perhaps he was trying not to cry.

"What's nice?" she whispered, wanting to crawl over to him and comfort him with a hug.

"Hearing that giggle of yours again," he answered. "I missed it." He cleared his throat, then. "Do you think..."

"What, Doctor?"

"Would you mind if I, er...slept in here?" He tugged at the duvet nervously. "I mean, if you want some space, then that's, um, that's fine, I'll just – the sofa, that's quite comfy, really - "

"The sofa's not at all comfy," she retorted, seeing through his lie. "Dunno why I bought it. It's horrible. We'll buy a new one." She lifted the duvet up in invitation. "Come here."

The Doctor sighed in relief and got in beside her, laying on his side. A respectable distance was resumed...for all of three seconds, when he couldn't resist any longer and wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her in against him. She let out a surprised but happy gasp, and then settled her head on his chest, listening to the _thump thump_ of his single heart.

"Rose," he whispered. "I know you think – well, you...you might still think I'm not him, but...please believe me when I say that I am. In all the things that matter, I'm exactly the same, despite the one heart and the one life thing."

"I know," she whispered back. "Memories, thoughts, feelings. The things that make a man. You're the same."

"And you've...you've read his letter, you know that he didn't want to abandon you, that it wasn't - "

"I know, Doctor," she repeated firmly, with all the conviction she felt in her heart. "He's given us a...well. A gift."

"Yeah," he breathed out roughly.

She turned her head slightly to look at him. "One thing I don't get, though. Anger and revenge? In you? I don't see it yet. You're the calmest I've ever known you to be. Is that just 'cos you're tired? Will the anger and whatnot kick in once it's sunk in that you're trapped here?"

He huffed a little at her question. "Firstly, don't call it _trapped, _that's just...that sounds awful. I'm not trapped here; I'm with you, right where I want to be. Secondly, I don't know, maybe you'll have to fix me again, make me better again, just like you did before – or maybe you've already done that, just by holding my hand again. Thirdly, I'm calm because for once in my long, long life, I'm content to just...stay still. With you. In my arms."

"You're...content? Right now?" she repeated, swallowing thickly.

"At the moment? Yep," he replied, popping the 'p' sleepily. He tenderly stroked her hair, guiding her head back to rest on his chest. "Gonna get to live the rest of my life with you. And seeing as that's the thing I've dreamt about for, well, years, it looks like I got a pretty good deal here, if you ask me."

She smiled into his chest and pressed a soft kiss there. He felt her lips through the thin material of his t-shirt and secretly wished he'd forgone the garment so that he'd've felt her lips against his skin.

"You know what I'm looking forward to?" she said quietly. "Quitting Torchwood."

He was silent for a moment, then said, "You want to quit? Definitely?"

"I want it to be just us again. Me and you, finding our own trouble. Course, they can always ring us if they've cocked things up and need to call the experts in," she grinned. "But I reckon we ought to stay away from them most of the time. Them and their guns and their short lifespans."

"Ah. Yes, that's a good plan," he agreed. He kissed the top of her head. "That's my girl," he whispered.

Rose's heart felt like it contracted painfully at his words. "You see, that's just it," she murmured in sudden realisation.

"What's that?" he asked, a little worried and more awake now, as he felt her tense up in his arms.

"I think...I think..." she tried, but her throat clogged up with emotion and she choked back a sob.

He ran his hand up and down her back, stroking soothingly. "What is it, Rose?"

"I think I forgot that a bit, when I was stuck here on my own," she finally whispered. "I forgot how to be that girl. I want to be her again, Doctor. Carefree and fun and in love." Tears spilled from her eyes in streams down her face, which she then buried in the Doctor's chest, her arm tightening around his middle. He held her tighter, too, wondering what to say to comfort her. "Instead of this, this," she continued, "This person I've become who forgets to eat, forgets to sleep, does paperwork instead of going out, buys uncomfortable leather sofas that she doesn't even _like _just 'cos she thinks it'll be more practical to clean! I mean, who's that? That's not me, that's not...that's not the Rose you fell in love with."

He nuzzled her hair softly, whispering, "Rose - tomorrow, we'll go get chips."

Rose sniffed, and stopped crying. "Hmm?"

He continued, tears in his eyes but that contented smile on his face, "Then we'll wander, explore, and laugh in the sun. Holding hands. Just like we used to. And then we'll rediscover who we are." He paused, and kissed the top of her head again. "Together."

"Yeah?" she whispered, lifting her head.

The Doctor leant forward and brushed her lips lightly with his own before pulling back and nodding. "Yes. Because you know what? You are still that girl. But you are so much more, too. You're as brave and beautiful as you've always been, but you've been through so much. Already I can see how much you've matured, and those changes, Rose - they aren't necessarily a bad thing. Although, I do strongly oppose the fact that you forget to eat and sleep; that must be rectified. As for the paperwork...well, if you're not going to work for them any more, that's that solved. Anyway, the point is, you are the same but different, and I -"

"You?" she prompted, her lips twitching in amusement as he hesitated.

"I still, you know."

"Still what?" she said, grinning now.

He cleared his throat. "You _know,_" he insisted.

"This about what you said at the beach, then?"

"Well, yes. But also..."

"Also what?"

He lifted his arm from around her so that he could tug on his ear uncomfortably. "I still, um."

"Still _what, _Doctor?"

He scowled at her playfully because he was so very aware that she was trying not to laugh at him. He dropped his arm back around her with a sigh, and tugged her closer. "I still want to be with you."

"Be with me? Or _be _with me?"

He rolled his eyes. "A bit of both."

"Just a bit?" she queried, raising an eyebrow.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?" she laughed.

"You know I'm not good at this."

"What? Talking about..._making love?"_

"Yes."

"That's okay. Plenty of time for you to get used to it."

"Is that so," he smirked.

"Haven't you heard? We're stuck here now. Nothing to do but travel and run and _dance."_

"Well, then. Tomorrow, we'd best get started."

"Well maybe one step at a time, yeah?"

"Are you saying you don't want to run and dance with me, Rose Tyler?"

"I'm saying that maybe we should take things slow. I mean, where's the rush?"

He gave a half-shrug. "No rush."

"Or can't your new human hormones handle it?"

"They can handle it perfectly well, thank you." He paused. "Or at else they will be able to, once I've learnt how to control them. Which, admittedly, might take a bit of time."

She smiled sympathetically. "I just think that seeing as we've been apart so long, we'll need to adjust. And, well, you're gonna have to acclimatise to your new surroundings and stuff."

"Pretty sure that's not how the customary reunion is supposed to go, you know," he said cheekily.

"Oh and you've done extensive research into those have you?" she smirked back.

"Well, not personally, no. Well, apart from the times we were parted before, but those were really very insignificant periods of time apart compared with our most recent stint of not being in the same universe as each other and everything. But when two people have been apart for so long on the telly - "

"On the telly most people don't have to deal with the emotionally traumatising (though briefly inspiring) experience of watching their...significant other...divide into two."

"That's...okay, fair enough. But, point of objection: I didn't _divide _into two. I'm still a whole person, you know. There's just...another whole person who is also me."

"Yeah I know."

"Say, hypothetically speaking, there _was_ a situation like this on the telly. How long do you suppose it would take the couple in question to patch themselves back up after the, er, traumatic experience, and be emotionally ready to - well."

"Doctor, for someone who doesn't find this matter easy to talk about, you're being very persistent with this line of questioning."

"Yes, well, that's at least partly your fault. I wasn't even thinking about that, much, until you started stroking my back."

Her hand abruptly stilled when she realised. "Was I stroking your back?"

"Yes."

"Since when?"

"Since I was very complimentary about you."

"Oh."

"It's okay, you didn't have to stop."

Rose giggled and lowered her hand to pat his bum once or twice. "Night, Doctor," she grinned, and burrowed herself into his arms.

The Doctor smiled, and closed his eyes. "Nighty-night, Rose Tyler."


	3. Chapter 3

_3_

::

Rose awoke to find the space that had been filled with the Doctor the night before mysteriously vacated. After a few sleepy moments in which she yawned and gathered her bearings, a sense of urgency overcame her and she called out his name.

No response.

She jumped out of her bed and lunged for the bedroom door, quickly opening it and launching herself into the living room.

No sign of him.

Panic seizing her by the throat, she steadied herself with her hands planted firmly on the back of the sofa, then sighed in relief when she'd calmed down enough to register the sound of running water. He must have been in the bathroom. Getting her breathing back to normal, she shook off her uneasiness and walked over to the bathroom, knocking gently on the door. "Doctor? You all right?" She turned the doorknob, but it was locked.

"Yeah!" he called back instantly. "Yes, yeah, I'm fine, absolutely fine, just, er, just having a shower!"

She frowned suspiciously. "Is that _all _you're doing in there?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed indignantly.

Letting out a giggle, Rose's cheeks warmed. "It's okay, you know, if it's not. I remember standing outside the bathroom door on the TARDIS once, a little while after your regeneration, and I'm pretty sure there was a bit of reacquainting yourself with well, _yourself,_ going on then, too - "

The door abruptly opened and his head popped out. "If you must know, I was taking a cold shower in order to prevent that possibility. Woke up in quite the awkward position and didn't want to alarm you, cuddled together as we were."

She grinned cheekily. "It's not like that has never happened before."

"What happened to you wanting to 'take things slowly' and 'get to know each other again?'" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, maybe that's overrated."

He rolled his eyes. "Now you tell me."

She reached a hand towards him, and ran her thumb down his sideburn coquettishly, her fingers slipping into his hair. "It's just. Well. You're here. I'm here. We're actually together, in the same room again. Something I wasn't so sure was going to actually happen. I think my idea, last night, of waiting even _longer _before we reunite properly was a bit…rubbish, really."

"Well, we were both pretty tired," he pointed out.

"Mmm." They stared at each other for a moment, then Rose dropped her hand and added, "So, um. Are you done with your shower?"

"Yes," he murmured, eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Are you gonna get dressed, then?" she asked, running her hand through her own messy hair casually. "Or just stand there naked with only your face available for me to look at?"

"Well that depends."

"Does it?"

"Yep." He watched her carefully. "If you want to – um. That is to say, if you think you're actually ready and won't regret this rather spur-of-the-moment idea, then…"

"Sure you can?" she smirked playfully.

He rolled his eyes. "I told you, I _wasn't - "_

"Yeah, all right."

"So…is that a yes, then?"

"Open the door properly," she murmured.

He swallowed thickly and did as she asked. She raised her eyebrows. "What?" he asked.

"You're not completely naked, then," she remarked, eyeing the towel tucked around his waist. "Budge over." She shuffled past him, moving over to the sink, and began to clean her teeth. He leant against the doorframe and watched her.

"There are so many little things that I missed about you," he said softly. "Things you don't really think about when everything's fine and happy, but suddenly, when they're gone, you realise that you don't want to live without them."

She hummed in agreement around her toothbrush.

"Sharing a bathroom with you, for instance. You know, there were plenty of bathrooms on the TARDIS, we could've easily had one each. But I liked sharing one with you. And when you were gone, and I used to go in there and see your toothbrush and your thousands of bottles of shampoo and moisturisers and just…" He breathed out roughly, closing his eyes. "It was so difficult, seeing you everywhere on the ship. Our bedroom, the library, the kitchen, the console room – everywhere. You'd left your hairbrush in the showers by the pool, you know. And I found your flip flops in the garden one day. And it was a bit embarrassing having to explain to Martha why there were a pair of knickers hanging on the chandelier in the ballroom - "

Rose choked on her toothpaste and spat it out quickly, wiping her chin. "Oh my god, what did you tell her?"

"Don't worry, I just told her that it was the TARDIS' idea of a joke."

"Right." She paused to rinse her mouth free of toothpaste, and he came to stand behind her, meeting her gaze in the mirror. "I remember that night," she whispered. "Couldn't believe that you'd engineered our own private ball like that."

"Yes, well," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist and settling his chin on the top of her head. "After all those balls I took you to on various planets, I figured that the only way I'd be able to do the socially improper things I really wanted to do on all those occasions was to have one of our own."

She smiled. "You really liked that dress."

"And you really liked my tux," he retorted.

Turning in his arms, Rose said, in a whisper, "It's been so long. I don't want to wait any longer. I've missed this too much."

She took a step backwards, leaning against the sink. Her hands went to his waist and she tugged his towel free, dropping it to the floor. "Oh," he squeaked, feeling decidedly self-conscious standing naked in front of her for the first time in years. He hoped she still liked what she saw.

"Can we…?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, please." He stepped forwards and tugged her against him again, seizing her mouth in a passionate kiss.

"I've missed you so much," she whispered, when she pulled back to breathe. He peppered kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

"Missed you too," he murmured. "Oh, Rose."

She stepped sideways, out of his embrace for a moment, in order to tug her pyjama top over her head. He kissed her again, and then backed her up towards her bedroom. And she gladly let him, wriggling out of her shorts before looping her arms around his neck and dragging him down onto the bed with her. Both deliciously naked, they spent some time just lying together atop the duvet, kissing and rediscovering each other with wandering hands.

"I used to think that I was exaggerating how good this felt, in my head," she admitted softly, as he kissed his way down her body. "When I used to think back on us, like this. But _god _it's brilliant, I knew it, I knew you'd make me remember how fantastic we were at this."

"How often?" he asked, pressing a kiss just below her navel. "How often did you think about this, after we were separated?"

"Oh god," she murmured, closing her eyes. "All the time. Every night, if I could, if I was on my own. I just…I wanted you back so much. I wanted everything about my life back. But this…ohhh, I wanted this back so badly."

He nipped playfully at her hip. "Me too," he growled. "Me too."


End file.
